Thanks - it’s not a location I had previously considered. Any idea what transport would run for shipping to the west coast? I’m also not looking for a horse currently showing in the 1.20s, I’m looking for a 3-5 year old 1.20 prospect. Although if I could find something in my price range that had experience over fences that would be a great bonus (though I certainly wouldn’t expect to find it easily).
If I could find a green, well-bred, scopey 5 year old domestically that seemed like it had the talent to do the 1.20/1.30s, I would totally snap it up. It sounds like it worked out very well for your client! Totally understand about having realistic goals. Like I said up top, I’d love a horse that could do 1.30/1.40, but if I end up with a solid 1.20 horse that’s pleasant on the flat, I’ll be pretty happy.
I’m sure there are great horses to be found domestically, and I plan on looking around the west coast as well (as I’ve said a few different times in this thread and emphasized in the top post for clarity). However, I just can’t get past the fact that the horses here seem to be significantly more expensive than their counterparts elsewhere for similar quality/talent. This even seems to be the case for 3-4 year olds. I don’t need the “prestige” of an import or any of that nonsense, I just want the best horse for the money, wherever it might be.
Horses in the U.S. tend to be much more spread out. I’m based in California. If I do a trip to Florida and a trip to Texas, for example, I’ve probably spent as much on airfare and hotels as a trip to Europe and haven’t sat on as many horses. I would also be paying for a PPE from a vet local to that area and for my vet out here to review the results, commissions, cross-country transport, etc. For context, I have imported from Europe before (U.K. specifically) and I understand that there are many costs and complexities involved.
For me, the cost of international transport and quarantine is the biggest factor. It’s all about how the numbers work out. If that cost is $10-12k from Europe, but comparable horses here are priced $13-15k more than their counterparts abroad, then the math favors an import. But if you’re looking at transport from Canada or Mexico, that price goes down dramatically (for both transport and quarantine) and the dollar is stronger against those currencies right now. When I say “import” most people’s minds jump directly to Western Europe, but I feel like there’s a lot of value in less traditional locations if you know where to look or have local connections.
It’s a legitimate question, so don’t worry about being a downer. I’m sorry to hear about your streak of bad luck and hope things look up for you soon!
I’ll give you some context. By “local” I mean shows within a few hours driving distance, I don’t mean small schooling shows. I’m in Northern California, so many of the shows in my area have classes up to 1.50. I mostly mean I won’t be shipping my horse down to Thermal for weeks at a time, etc.
I want a horse with talent and athletic ability, but competition isn’t my main goal. When I was in middle school, high school, and college, I went to horse shows almost every weekend, typically showing multiple horses and/or working in some capacity. I’ve competed up to the CIC3* level in eventing, took multiple horses to young riders, etc. I’ve had a good deal of success and am grateful for the opportunities I had, but I burned out hard and started to resent it.
I’d like to go to a few shows per year for fun, but I really enjoy working with my horse at home. I still set goals, I still work hard, and I still see progress. I also like jumping the bigger stuff. I don’t think a person has to do a lot of showing to find utility in a horse that can jump bigger, but I take your point about evaluating what’s really important in coming to a decision.
Also, with regard to the “maybe you don’t need an imported horse” line of thought - my message has been pretty consistent throughout this thread: I just want the best value I can find in my budget, no matter where it comes from. I don’t care if it’s Cincinnati, Canada, or Czechoslovakia. Just looking for some suggestions and guidance as to how to best go about that process!
The price is similar to shipping from elsewhere in western Europe. Switzerland is a pretty small country. Another benefit is that the exchange rate is typically better with the Franc than the Euro.
Once you are getting towards 5 years old, most over there will have been tested at that height. It’s not quite the same as how we build the courses here, but at 4 they are typically doing 1.10 by the end of the year and then by 5 or 6, 1.20. The exception may be the ones doing the style classes (kind of like doing the first year greens here), but those are probably not the ones you’re looking at. Now what you may hear is that the horse “placed at X height”…doesn’t necessarily mean they did that height all that well in terms of rideability or form, but they probably jumped clear. You can learn a good bit from watching a show video as well as schooling video as to what the experience actually means. But, “placing at” a decent height for the age does get factored into the price.
If you are shopping for a 3yo, you’ll want to look probably later in the year since most are just getting pulled in from the field in the spring. You’ll need to know how they hold up to having some kind of a job. Then they will often be turned back out for the winter and brought back to do some showing at 4.
In any event, in Switzerland, once a horse has accumulated a certain number of points at each height level, they must move up or sit out a full competition year. It doesn’t matter who rode them or how many riders. So, you can get some experience for a lower price on one who isn’t going to keep progressing in height but who needs to be sold to another market.
Even so, there’s not a ton of good quality below about 30k, and even less below 20. One benefit to Switzerland is that’s cheaper than 30k EUR and definitely cheaper than 30k GBP. For a jumper, they all sure know what they’ve got over there. I saw a really nice 6 figure 4 year old, for example 
.
But I also wonder, if your goal is to do local shows, do you need one that can jump 1.20m and up? Do you have those heights at your local shows?
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Thanks for the context. It sounds like a great opportunity for someone with a bigger budget, but might be a bit out of reach for me right now. My goal is to have a horse that jumps the bigger stuff and that I enjoy riding and working with. As I explained in another reply, there are lots of shows in my local area that go up to 1.50, and I’d like to attend a few per year, but showing isn’t, in itself, my ultimate goal.
I think the consistent message over all the replies, and something everyone can agree on, is that a smaller budget with big goals will require looking under rocks and in nooks and crannies, no matter where you go shopping. Even the folks who have imported have said they aren’t going to the easily available dealers to find their good deals. Everyone is in favor of how they did it being best, but there is that common thread among all the success stories and that is what is worth focusing on!
Good luck, and know it can be done! I’m very happy with my random Facebook purchase off video, and while we aren’t showing 1.20m yet, it’s not because he doesn’t have the jump (also, I’m a chicken).
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Thanks, I appreciate the words of encouragement! Totally agree that I’ll need to be scrappy and look around. I’m game for it.
I’m not in a big rush so hopefully it’ll give me time to look around and get familiar with the market (domestically and abroad) before I start actually trying and vetting horses. I will also reach out to a bunch of contacts once I’m closer to being ready, so hopefully that will yield some success. I’m actually kind of hoping I can find a good deal on a scopey & sound eventer who isn’t quite cut out for the eventing world, but who knows?
Best of luck with your guy! What facebook group did you find him on?
I thinkkkkk it was Just Hunters Jumpers and Equitation horses? Don’t quote me on that though.
Facebook’s search features have vastly improved since 2016 so its a lot easier to search for keywords in groups you’re a member of (i.e. type in “1.20” and then sort on most recent - this only works on desktop, not the mobile app or site). So if you join a couple of groups and then periodically search for a keyword, you can see quite a few options very easily - including replies to other ISO posts.
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Hi there! I’m from the UK, although I am a pony person so cannot recommend any sport horse dealers personally.
A good facebook page to join is BSJA if you haven’t done so already. If you trawl through it, there are lots of adverts for horses from one horse owners up to the big dealers. I’ve scrolled through this afternoon and seen quite a few 3-5 year olds for 5-8k (pound sterling). BSJA stands for British Show Jumping Association, although in the last few years they changed their name to British Showjumping.
There are also a few Dodgy dealer UK Facebook pages which I would also recommend joining so you know who to avoid, there are also lots of well-recommended dealers/breeders on there.
I have personally heard good things about Castell Sport Horses, although never had dealings with them myself. They are on facebook and have posted photos of their horses in the US.
It must be a very exciting but worrying experience. I am bad enough with looking at potential ponies to buy at 1k! I wish you all the best.
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There is a horse for sale by Olive Branch Equestrian in Omaha Nebraska that may be what you are looking for. I believe her name is Olympia. She is an 11 year old wb mare.
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I know a guy with really nice youngstock here. Mostly KWPN/Hann. PM me if/when you’re interested and I can tell you what he’s got. The Billy Stud also has a big selection of nice ones.
Thanks! This is helpful 
She sounds good on paper, although they chose a very unflattering photo for her advertisement lol. I’m not looking to buy until next summer/fall, but it’s good to see what the market is like - and I’m always aiming to improve my eye for evaluating horses, so thank you!
Thank you!
